Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 772: Happy Island

Crack, craaaaaaack—

Craaaaaaack—

It did not take too long for the bones to shatter completely. In a matter of seconds, Loic’s hand was hanging loosely, and the sight brought great fear and terror to everyone who witnessed it.

The man who grabbed and broke Loic’s wrist said, “You m*th*rf*ck*r. You will pay for what you did to my boiled meat.”

His eyes were bloodshot. Loic and the knights looked at the man in doubt.

‘Is that truly his reason for doing this?!’

Perhaps, there was another reason. After all, why would someone be so vicious just because a piece of boiled pork fell on the ground?

“It was my boiled pork, the piece of boiled pork that I was saving for last.”

The man’s voice was devoid of warmth, yet his words were quite nonsensical. However, the vitriol that leaked through his voice was enough to tell everyone present that he meant business.

‘He broke Commander Loic’s wrist just because of a single piece of boiled pork…’

However, the surprise from that realization was only brief. The knights of the Pluine Merchant Order immediately pulled their swords out. However, Minhyuk did not let go of Loic’s wrist. In fact, he continued to look at the man with a scathing, terrifying gaze.

Loic screamed, “Damn you! How dare you do this to me for a mere piece of boiled pork…!”

The moment those words left Loic’s mouth, Evelyn realized something. Loic had said something that he should not have. Those words caused Minhyuk’s anger to soar.

Of course, the reason why he was furious was mainly attributed to that final piece of boiled pork that fell on the ground. However, although Minhyuk looked like he had been focused on his meal, he had actually been paying attention to what was happening beside him.

As it turned out, Loic had killed Evelyn’s father, because he coveted Evelyn’s body. The Pluine Merchant Group, Loic’s employer, was helping him from behind the scenes.

Who was Evelyn? She had served Minhyuk, who really wanted to partake in her craft, a bowl of gogi-guksu using the last of her ingredients. The value of an item varied greatly depending on the person receiving it. For Minhyuk, the bowl of gogi-guksu that Evelyn served him was a very precious and special gift.

Minhyuk let go of Loic’s wrist, who felt relieved. It seemed like the man in front of him had already wrapped his head around the situation.

“How dare you go against the Pluine Merchant Order…”

Baaaaaaaang—

Loic’s front teeth flew as Minhyuk’s fist made contact with his face. Then, Minhyuk stepped on Loic’s foot and restricted his movements, effectively preventing him from running away as he landed punch after punch on the man’s body.

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!

Thud—

Crack, crack, crack—

The sound of Loic’s cracking bones rang inside the restaurant as his body was completely pummeled while he fainted on the spot.

‘H, how…’

The one who was most surprised by the sudden turn of events was Evelyn. In her eyes, he was a pure and innocent young man who loved to eat. But now, he was shrouded by an overbearing aura while terrifying killing intent leaked from his eyes. His momentum was so overwhelming that none of the people in the room could compare.

Even so, the knights of the Pluine Merchant Group still jumped at Minhyuk.

Baaaaaaaang—

Booooooooom—

Crack, crack, crack—

However, the knights of the Pluine Merchant Group were also helpless in front of him. All they could do was unilaterally receive his beatings. Minhyuk easily overpowered these knights.

“W, wait. You can’t kill them!”

Evelyn knew that Minhyuk would be in a bad position if he killed them because of her. At her words, Minhyuk stopped raining blows on the men inside the restaurant.

The truth was, Minhyuk was not actually thinking of killing them either. At that moment, the hidden symbol engraved on Minhyuk’s chest shone brightly. It was the ‘Evil Incarnate’s Hunter’ symbol.

Minhyuk had been the one who killed the Evil Incarnate not too long ago. He had received a lot of rewards for that. Among them was the symbol of the ‘Evil Incarnate’s Hunter.’

This symbol had the power to allow Minhyuk to either brainwash or put a curse on his opponent. The name of this power was the ‘Cursed Whispers’ and he could choose from a diverse selection of curses to use on his opponent. When it came to brainwashing, he could use it to inflict extreme fear upon his opponents and turn them crazy until they fell dead.

‘It’s a useful but terrifying skill.’

As expected of a skill left behind by the Evil Incarnate. Of course, the skill could only be triggered if the opponent was at least a hundred levels below Minhyuk’s level. Even after this condition was met, the skill could only be triggered by luck. The only way to increase the probability of the skill being triggered was reducing the opponent’s HP as much as possible.

Evelyn did not notice, but Minhyuk was staring coldly at the people who had curled their bodies from the pain and had collapsed on the ground. Then, his eyes turned black as he began to whisper to them.

[Cursed Whispers]

[Your chosen curse has been applied to your enemies.]

“Obey me.”

The faint whisper sounded as if it came from the devil himself. Minhyuk brainwashed the knights, except for Loic. The knights’ eyes turned black for a very brief moment before returning to their original color.

Then, Minhyuk spoke as if nothing had happened, “Get lost.”

The knights hurriedly stood up and dragged Loic away with them.

Meanwhile, Evelyn looked at Minhyuk in gratitude. She didn\'t even know how to thank the man. At the same time, she was also very worried, not for herself, but for Minhyuk. After all, the Pluine Merchant Order’s influence and power was comparable to the royal family on Happy Island. It was actually more accurate to say that the king had no other choice but to concede in front of the Pluine Merchant Order.

“How could I even thank you…”

Minhyuk said, “That one bowl of gogi-guksu was more than enough.”

He meant it. The dish was more than enough for Minhyuk. After all, it was the most delicious gogi-guksu that he had ever tasted in his life.

‘Are all of the dishes on this island at this level?’

The dish born from Evelyn’s hands was so good that it caused Minhyuk to burst out in exclamation. Perhaps she was born to become a chef?

However, there was something that Minhyuk was very curious about. “But why do those guys want you so much?”

Minhyuk was very quick-witted. He guessed that it was not just for her delicious dishes.

“My dishes can give one special powers.”

“…”

Happy Island was quite different from the Asgan Continent. Evelyn’s dishes might be the Asgan Continent’s buffed dishes. It was unlikely that Evelyn was the only one capable of making buffed dishes on this island. If such dishes were scarce, then it made sense for them to covet Evelyn. Still, Minhyuk thought that things should not have devolved to this level.

“Those that eat my dishes will be able to grow stronger at a faster pace. Furthermore, this effect is permanent.”

“…!”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide.

‘The effects are permanent? Wait. Does that mean that the EXP acquired will increase permanently?’

This was an insane discovery. There were some among the high rankers that bought the ‘Blessed One’s Ring’, an equipment that could permanently increase one’s EXP gain by a mere 3%. However, the ring was transacted for tens of thousands of platinum. That was how much the players wanted the permanent increase in EXP acquisition. In Evelyn’s case, the effect would manifest by eating her dishes and not by wearing an artifact.

Minhyuk pondered deeply over this matter. There was a chance that the operators had set Evelyn as Happy Island’s special NPC. Those who were able to eat her dishes would be able to get a permanent increase in their EXP acquisition. This meant that Evelyn’s worth was beyond imagination. What would happen if Minhyuk was able to bring Evelyn to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?

‘Plenty of NPCs and players would rush to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and knock on our doors.’

Minhyuk was certain of this. The permanent increase in EXP acquisition would easily outweigh the benefits that the Luvien Empire could bring forward.

‘I want her.’

However, just because he wanted to bring her to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom did not mean that he could ask her to go there right away.

“Please be careful,” Minhyuk said.

Evelyn understood the meaning of his words better than anybody else.

“Yes. That’s why I’m going to go somewhere safe.”

“Where?”

“The king’s castle. My late father was quite close with His Majesty Effer.”

Minhyuk nodded. Perhaps this was much better than her being forced to go to the Pluine Merchant Group. There was a high chance that her choice was the best path for herself.

“I see.”

First of all, she was in a situation where it was impossible for her to continue running her restaurant. For her, the best course of action was to evade the eyes of the Pluine Merchant Group.

It was a pity, but Minhyuk knew that he had to let it be. After leaving Evelyn behind, he quickly checked a portion of the memories of the knights that he used the Cursed Whisper on.

‘This is really very convenient and useful.’

With the help of the Cursed Whisper, Minhyuk was able to monitor and check the situation of the Pluine Merchant Group through the minds of the knights that he had brainwashed.

Then, his eyes grew wide. ‘Huh? Setoka and Kanpei[1]?’

These were Jeju Island’s specialties, different varieties of tangerine that were large and sweet.

‘Oho? The Pluine Merchant Group has some Setoka and Kanpei stored in their warehouse?’ Minhyuk thought, his throat bobbing as he gulped his saliva.

***

Loic, whose bones were crushed, immediately called for high-ranking priests to heal his body the moment he went back to the Pluine Merchant Group. Thanks to the priests, his bones were mended to some extent, and he was finally able to walk on his own.

As soon as he could stand up, he growled, “Gather the knights and the soldiers. I’m going to tear that damn bastard to shreds!! I’ll kill him and Evelyn!”

Loic was furious. But before he could enact his plans, one of the knights that came with him said, “Sir Loic, before you go, why don’t you check the Setoka and Kanpei that we will offer to the God of Happiness?”

“Ahem. Yes, you’re right. Let’s do that first.”

The golden Setoka and Kanpei held special powers and were considered to be valuable and precious items in Happy Island. They were also very rare commodities. In fact, the island could only harvest five of each of the golden Setoka and Kanpei per year. The strength and power of those who consumed these fruits would permanently increase. In other words, the fruits could increase one’s stats.

The golden Setoka and Kanpei that they harvested were offered to the God of Happiness during their yearly prayers. As it stood, the day where they would offer these fruits to the God of Happiness was drawing near. That was why Loic had to check on the warehouse containing those ten fruits before killing that bastard.

“I wonder what the golden Setoka and Kanpei taste like?”

Of course, they have all tried the ordinary Setoka and Kanpei. However, they were still vastly different from the golden Setoka and Kanpei.

According to the merchant group’s master, who had tasted it once, they were unparalleled in terms of taste. They were sour, yet also had a lingering sweetness. Just thinking about it was enough to make them drool. The problem was that the golden Setoka and Kanpei were precious and priceless items. That was why they could not get their hands on it.

“Do we have enough horned black pig’s meat to offer to the God of Happiness?”

“Yes. We have slaughtered and processed two hundred horned black pigs for the offering.”

The horned black pigs were around ten times more expensive than ordinary black pigs. However, the taste of their meat was superb. From what they had heard, the banquet prepared for the God of Happiness was incredibly special. However, for some strange reason, they were unaware of the exact details of the event.

Loic immediately grabbed the handles of the doors of the food storage warehouse upon their arrival. He said, “Let’s quickly check the condition of the items, after that, we’ll go gather a hundred knights to rip that bastard to shreds.”

The moment he opened the door, Loic tilted his head in confusion

“…?”

He was greeted with the sight of a man sitting leisurely inside the warehouse with the skin of the golden Setoka and Kanpei scattered behind him. In fact, the man was even pushing the last piece of Kanpei in his mouth.

“You, you…!”

The individual had eaten all of the golden Setoka and Kanpei. On top of that, the two hundred horned black pig meat and the rest of the ingredients inside the food storage warehouse were all gone.

However, the most important thing was that Loic was very familiar with the man that devoured all of the golden Setoka and Kanpei. It was none other than the bastard that he had encountered in the restaurant earlier.

The man grinned at Loic. Then, he opened his mouth and a loud sound, akin to a dragon’s roar, echoed inside the food storage warehouse.

“Buuuuuuuuuuuurp—!”

1. Tangerines (citrus fruits) that are grown and bred in Jeju Island, originated from Japan. ☜